Newborns, in particular premature babies, need an environment which maintains energy and water balances in a manner similar to an in-utero environment in the womb of the mother. Disturbances to the energy and water balance lead to increased mortality and morbidity, reduce growth rates and have other unfavorable effects.
Conventional incubators, heat lamps and heatable mattresses do not provide the option of enabling full access to the newborn for therapeutic or nursing intervention and at the same time maintaining a constant climate for the newborn.
Garments for newborns, in which a newborn is enclosed by a film-like material to protect it from cold and dehydration, are already known from the prior art. These garments are generally substantially square or rectangular in design, with a back side and a front side which are connected to one another at the edges. However, printed document U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,064 also describes an embodiment which is realized in the form of a shirt.
The various embodiments from the prior art have a high rigidity which, particularly in the case of a PE material, leads to the formation of folds which can cause damage to the skin, for example by pressure points. A certain degree of noise caused by rustling when swaddling the newborn and a lack of external access to the newborn are furthermore disadvantageous. In particular, it is crucial that the newborn is received quickly into a protective environment immediately after the birth. However, this is difficult in the case of known garments, which means that valuable seconds are lost.
Printed document EP 2,543,269 A1 discloses a neonatal cover which has various small windows that can be closed by a removable film to enable access to the newborn from the outside. This type of garment is substantially square in shape with a front and back side, wherein a closable lateral length of the square can be opened completely so that a newborn can be placed therein, whilst an adjacent lateral length of the square has a smaller opening in a central region through which the head of the newborn can peer out. This embodiment is disadvantageous in that the insertion of the newborn is very difficult, possibly resulting in injuries.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a garment for a newborn or a premature baby which eliminates the risk of injury present in the prior art, and which can be placed on a newborn more easily. Access to the newborn from the outside should also remain possible.